Blake seals 11th straight Stockholm win in Swedish struggle

 Top seed Blake is chasing a title hat-trick at the Kungligahallen as he bids to become the first to win three in a row.

 It took a battle lasting more than two and a half hours to subdue the 45th-ranked Bjorkman, 35, the 1997 champion.

 The Swedish crowd favourite couldn't hold onto his lead of a set and 4-2, dropping the second set as Blake levelled before going down on a break in the third set on his way out.

 Blake now stands 11-0 in Stockholm as he next faces either Peter Wessels or Canadian Frank Dancevic.

 The contest with Bjorkman featured 27 break points, with Blake getting out of jail with 13 aces to overcome eight double-faults.

 The American, last year's losing finalist at the season-ending Masters Cup in Shanghai, stands ninth in the race for the eight-man event next month.

 German fourth seed Tommy Haas, a rival in the chase, got off to a winning start, breaking late in the first set on his way to hammering Belgian Olivier Rochus 6-4, 6-1.

 The German stands 12th in a tightly packed race less than a dozen points from a potential spot in Shanghai.

 "It was a tough first set, and I did well to break him in the important game at 5-4. It was important to hold early in the second when he was frustrated and down," said Haas, 2004 semi-finalist against Andre Agassi.

 "I took advantage of my opportunities and played well. I'm pleased with how I played. We'll see what happens in the next match. Even though I've been up and down with injuries this season, I like playing indoors."

   Mario Ancic sent Amer Delic to his 10th straight loss with a 6-1, 6-4 result to move into the second round. The unseeded Ancic is hoping that his second return to form this season will be a lasting effort in the closing stages of the 2007 campaign.

 Off court, second seed David Ferrer, last week's Tokyo champion, withdrew with a hamstring injury, joining former seeds Tommy Robredo and Tomas Berdych in pulling the plug on the indoor event.

 Ancic, a 2004 Wimbledon semi-finalist, lost six months to mononucleosis from February, then injured his shoulder, which kept him out another month, just a few weeks after a tentative comeback over the summer.

 The number 56 had won his last match nearly two months ago.

 "I'm still very careful with practice. Now and then I still wake up tired and can't do anything that day," he said. "But I feel good now, and that's the most important thing."

DPA